It seems from the very beginning of their idea to establish a buffalo common in the Great Plains; the locals were putting out a negative vibe. Some of the editors did not like the idea of the commons and gave some quick responses to the Poppers" fifteen page essay introducing the buffalo commons idea. The editors felt that these New Jersey natives had no right to barge into unknown territory and delegate some land to buffalo. They felt that the Poppers could not appreciate what the local plains people grew up with. One columnist even wrote, "Let's turn New Jersey into a dumping commons, the permanent place where America wants to put anything we get rid of," (Matthews 25). It also does not help matters that most of the people in these populations feel that the Popper's were hired by someone or some company to do research. This would irritate the locals even more because it is as if someone was giving other insignificant people to do work in your backyard. However with all of this negative feedback, the Poppers still had the urge to educate the people of the plains on why this may be beneficial to them and the buffalo. By going to McCook, Nebraska and talking to people from Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and South Dakota; the Poppers have the opportunity to tell the people what is going on in their plains community. .
Before the Poppers can give their presentation, there is a sense of hostility towards the Poppers. Frank Popper heightens the anger by giving the facts about how their will be a declining cycle in the plains much worse then they have faced in the past. Situations like the green house effect, shifts in foreign policy, shifts in agricultural markets, and also change in diets including going away from red meat; these aspects are contributing the downward cycle. Frank proposes the solution of having a buffalo commons as the nucleus for the one hundred and ten counties.
